


Flock Together

by QueenOfAllCorgis



Series: Fly Away, Fly Away, Far Away [13]
Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF, Queen (Band)
Genre: Discrimination, Harassment, M/M, Past Slavery, angel!verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:00:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27751195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenOfAllCorgis/pseuds/QueenOfAllCorgis
Summary: A bigot on set focuses his ignorance on Ben.Roger doesn't care for that.~The Roger/Ben bonding fic everyone wanted :)
Relationships: Ben Hardy/Gwilym Lee (hinted)
Series: Fly Away, Fly Away, Far Away [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1474874
Comments: 7
Kudos: 43





	Flock Together

The nerves never really went away.

Things were so _different_ here than on his other sets. He was used to being treated as a commodity, more of a prop than anything else. Here, people asked what he wanted for lunch. Here, people _brought_ him his lunch. Here, he had a tailer with his name on it. Here, he was a part of the cast – not something pretty to look at.

All in all, it was overwhelming.

Ninety-five percent of the people he worked with were great. They were kind and thoughtful and treated him like any other person. It took time for his tense nerves to lessen a bit but soon he found himself actually enjoying being around others.

But…five percent didn’t seem as willing to accept him.

A few people weren’t outright nasty, just dismissive. They would address his human coworkers instead of him, ignore him, or talk to him like a child. It was annoying but he brushed it off, shaking his head whenever his friends got up in arms about it. It was fine. Some people were just ignorant, not much he could do about that.

And then there was Lewis.

Lewis was an assistant to an assistant to…whatever. Basically he told people where to be when they were needed. He was paid a stupid amount of money to boss people around and that gave him enough power to get a huge head.

“Hey,” he snapped his fingers in front of Ben’s face, distracting him from his coffee. “Don’t ignore me.”

“I’m drinking my coffee. This is the first thing you’ve said to me so ignoring you…not what was happening…” Ben raised his eyebrows and took a sip.

Lewis’s eyes narrowed. “Cut back on the sass, it’s not attractive.”

At that Ben felt his wings twitch a bit in annoyance. The feathers at the base fluffed a bit and his flight feathers spread. “I really wasn’t trying to be attractive. I was trying to drink my coffee.”

“You know, thirty-five years ago you’d be whipped for that,” Lewis dropped his voice and Ben’s stomach sank. There was something dangerous and cruel in the other man’s eyes, something that made his blood run cold.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Every part of him told him to just duck his head and scurry away. His parents had always taught him that being alive and safe was preferrable to being outspoken and killed. There were plenty of people who still believed in the old ways and they were nervous that him stepping out would make him a target.

But, being here and meeting Roger made him rethink that. Change didn’t happen by hiding and hoping that cruelty just passed him by. It was terrifying, it went against the self-preservation that his parents had drilled into him, it was a lot but…but it had to be worth it.

Right?

“It means, that if angels knew their place, we wouldn’t even be having his conversation.”

Ben stiffened and fought against the urge to crush the coffee cup in his hand. “And we’re not having a conversation. Kindly fuck off.”

He turned to walk away, wanting to seethe in silence, but rough fingers twisted in the downy feathers at the base of his wings. Ben gasped in pain, arching his back as the feathers were yanked. The cup clattered to the ground and hot coffee spilled over his shoes.

“What the fuck is your problem?” He shouted, voice coming out louder than he expected. He wrenched his wing free and hissed when a few feathers ripped.

“What seems to be the issue gents?” A familiar raspy voice came from behind them and time seemed to freeze. Lewis’s hand let go of the feathers and he took a few steps away, shoulders curling in. Roger stood nearby, face calm but his eyes and wings gave away his true feelings. His eyes were icy, sharp and cold. His wings were held high, feathers fluffed lightly.

“Nothing Mr. Taylor,” Lewis mumbled.

Roger’s eyes slid to Ben who just tucked his wings in tightly. “Doesn’t seem like nothing. Seemed like you were pulling out our Benjamin’s feathers and saying some truly disgusting words that go strongly against our anti-discrimination policies.”

“Oh…no I-“

“Words that will lead to immediate termination of your contract. Rest assured that your final paycheck will find its way to you, but you will leave this set right now,” Roger’s gaze never faltered, burning into the shocked man.

Lewis blinked and then shook his head. “You can’t…you can’t fire me!”

“I’m a producer on this film so…yes, I do think I can fire you. Can you find yourself out or should I call security?” Roger cocked his head a bit to the side, but his wings stood strong and proud.

A few moments passed before the shock faded and was replaced by fury. Lewis spit on the floor next to Roger’s expensive shoes and glared at the two of them. “Just know, that the only reason you’re both free is because some bleeding heart yahoos thought animals deserved rights. Without them, you’d be warming someone’s bed right now and you would have put down decades ago.”

He turned on his heel and stormed out, slapping a box of sugar packets from the table to the ground. Ben stood perfectly still and waited until the door slammed before he let himself relax. The adrenaline rushed out of him, making him feel worn and shaky.

“Come on lad,” a warm hand settled between his shoulder blades, right above where his wings met. He felt a hot flash of embarrassment as Roger quietly led him through the studio and to the tailers. His voice was soft and reassuring as he was led into the trailer and pushed onto the couch. “Care for some tea?”

“I’m fine,” Ben blurted out, ignoring the pricks of displaced feathers in his back. “Really, you don’t have to go through all this trouble. I’m fine.”

The sad smile Roger gave him made him shrink down further.

“Really Mr. Taylor, I’m fine. A few foul comments aren’t anything compared to what-“

“First,” Roger interrupted him, holding up a finger. “None of this Mr. Taylor business. I am Roger to you. Second, there is no threshold for suffering. Your pain doesn’t disappear because you consider mine worse. What that man said to you was foul, evil and cruel. You should be disgusted and angry by it.”

Ben scowled down at his hands. “I don’t want it to bother me. I want to brush it off and roll my eyes and…ignore it. It’s stupid.”

The older angel settled back on the couch and stretched his legs out a bit. “It would be nice to ignore all those prejudiced, idiotic people but if we don’t stand up for ourselves, who will? Firing one person won’t change his mind or anyone else’s but it will show that people don’t have to stand idly by.”

“I didn’t intend to be some…revolutionary when I started acting,” Ben mumbled, reaching behind himself and trying to fix his out of place feathers.

“I didn’t intend to be one when I started playing the drums with a few nobodies,” Roger shrugged and gave him a slightly crooked smile. “But here we are. We can look at our platform, the chance we’ve been given, and we can shy away from it or…we can rise to the occasion. It’s your choice.”

He finally relaxed as Roger’s knowing fingers slipped along the feathers, putting them back into place. They sat in silence for a few long moments before Ben took in a shaky breath. “I don’t want to let you down. I know what an honor this role is and I know how angels are looking at me. I know what they expect and…I’m scared that I’ll just be seen as a sorry shadow of a great man.”

The fingers in his feathers paused for a moment. “That won’t happen. I chose you remember? I have great taste.”

Ben cracked a smile at that.

“You are incredibly talented Ben. Everyone here on set adores you and the potential you have is extraordinary,” Roger smoothed down the feathers and scooted back. “I mean, you should hear Gwilym talk about you. You’d think he was talking about the damn sun.”

Instantly his face burned and Ben fought the urge to hide it in his hands. “No he…we…what did he say exactly?”

Roger grinned wider and shot him a wink. 


End file.
